Affiliated Associations

Manufacturing Institute

Facts About Manufacturing

In the most recent data, manufacturers contributed $2.09 trillion to the economy, having risen steadily since being $1.73 trillion in 2009. The sector currently accounts for 12.0 percent of GDP. 1 For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.37 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. 2

Manufacturing supports an estimated 17.6 million jobs in the United States""about one in six private-sector jobs. More than 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.3

In 2013, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $77,506 annually, including pay and benefits. The average worker in all industries earned $62,546.4

Manufacturers in the United States are the most productive in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.5

Manufacturers in the United States perform more than three quarters of all private-sector R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.6

Taken alone, manufacturing in the United States would be the 9th largest economy in the world.7